“Deep Dive” with Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President and CEO Jim Michaelian before the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

JIM:

IndyCar fans, it's time to start your engines. Welcome to Pit Pass Indy, a production of Evergreen Podcast. I'm your host, Bruce Martin, a journalist who regularly covers the NTT IndyCar Series. Our goal at Pit Pass Indy is to give racing fans an insider's view of the exciting world of the NTT IndyCar Series in a fast-paced podcast featuring interviews with the biggest names in the sport. I bring nearly 40 years of experience covering IndyCar and NASCAR, working for such media brands as NBCSports.com, SI.com, ESPN SportsTicker, Sports Illustrated, AutoWeek and SpeedSport. So let's drop the green flag on this episode of Pit Pass Indy. Welcome to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental as we continue our fifth season of giving IndyCar fans an inside look at the most exciting form of racing on the planet, the NTT IndyCar Series. Let's welcome back our friends from Penske Truck Rental as they return to sponsor Pit Pass Indy, helping bring you the inside stories of IndyCar from the paddock to the racetrack to the highways and streets of America. The next race in the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series schedule is the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach from April 11th to April 13th. It's the biggest, most historic street race in North America and has been on the Formula One, kart, and IndyCar schedules throughout its long and glorious history. And today's guest has been part of this great event since the very beginning. It's Jim McCallion, the longtime president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, who was one of the first employees Chris Pook hired when he created the Long Beach Grand Prix in 1975. At the time, Pook ran a travel agency in Long Beach and the city was interested in helping transform the Southern California seaside city from a Navy town and a major shipping terminal by attracting more businesses into the area. By showcasing Long Beach to an international audience, first with the Formula 5000 race in 1975, followed by the United States Grand Prix Formula One World Championship contest from 1976 to 1983, some of the greatest drivers in racing history competed on the streets of Long Beach. Beginning in 1984, it switched to the IndyCar series and has been one of the highlights on the IndyCar schedule ever since. It was the first major street race in the United States and has had a lasting impact in Southern California, annually drawing huge crowds of race fans and party goers who turned the three-day event into a high-speed street festival. The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach has been held every year except for 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic led the state of California to shut it down, along with other public events, for the better part of 16 months. It returned in the fall of 2021 before switching back to its traditional April date in 2022. Since that time, the huge crowds have returned to one of the highlights of the racing season. This year, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach celebrates its 50th anniversary. On this episode of Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental, Jim McCallion tells the backstory of this event, along with the exciting plans for this weekend, in this exclusive deep dive interview. From Brian Redman's victory in a Formula 5000 race in 1975 to Scott Dixon's win in 2024, our next guest has seen it all. It's the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. President Jim McCallion, who is preparing for the 50th Acura Grand Prix this Sunday on the streets of Long Beach. Jim, you've seen it all. You've done it all. It's been 50 years. Does it seem like it's been that long?

JIM:

Well, in some ways it has been and in other ways it's really been an exhilarating ride. I've really appreciated the opportunity to be involved with the race here in Long Beach from its inception. worked with Chris Pook back in the early days when he had the idea of trying to run a street race in America, which was unknown at the time because there hadn't been any for almost 25 years. We were able to successfully convince the city fathers, the sanctioning bodies, the stakeholders, and Bruce, most important of all, believe it or not, the insurance companies, that we could conduct this event in a safe manner, both as far as safety for the drivers, but also for the spectators who are attending the event. So as a consequence of that, why that first race, September 1975, Formula 5000 race, was a very significant one in terms of launching Palm Beach as a venue for street racing, the very first modern street race in America.

BRUCE:

Because you were the first, there were a lot of processes that hadn't really been done, such as temporary barriers, putting up temporary fencing. In a lot of ways, you guys perfected that and innovated that. Now we see street races all over the world who use a lot of the things that really started at your track. How much trial and error was there in getting the right barriers, getting the right fencing installed, and to be able to perfect that 50 years into the future?

JIM:

Bruce, very little trial and error, I can tell you that right now, because in 1975, we were out raising capital to be able to fund the acquisition of what we felt And it was actually thanks to a gentleman named Dr. Peter Talbot, who came down from San Francisco with the sports car club up there and designed the system that you're right. Basically, when you look at street racing today, it's composed of virtually all of the same elements that Dr. Talbot designed in 75. The only thing was, he only really had one shot at it. because we were out raising that money and we managed to acquire enough just to get started. That was like June, right? June of 75. We've got a race to run in September, September 28th, 1975. So, you know, he had to be right. And unfortunately for all of us and You know, for racing in general, too, why those elements that he designed, curved fence, block with straight edge on the inside, the tire pallets, you know, they were spherical and attenuators in those days. But all of that emanated from his work as our circuit construction designer.

BRUCE:

And how challenging was the safety fencing? Because you had to have cables in addition to the mesh that keeps debris and large pieces from going into the crowd.

JIM:

And that was part of his technical approach was to make sure that that fence performed two functions. One, obviously, you didn't want parts flying out. So it had the curved structure at the top, which sort of retained flying debris inside, but you also wanted that fence to have enough flexibility so that if, God forbid, a car got up into it, why it could flex and impart, you know, a dissipation of all of the energy or some of it. So as a consequence of that, why it could minimize the impact on the driver in the car.

BRUCE:

I believe you told me a year or two ago, the way this race got started was that Chris Pook ran a travel agency. And at that time, there wasn't a whole lot of tourists coming to Long Beach. It was still pretty much a manufacturing shipping port. What can you tell us about how the impetus of this street race began with Chris Pook and how soon after he started putting this together, did you join forces with him?

JIM:

Well, at the time, and this is the early 70s, the city of Long Beach and the city fathers were rather prescient in that regard, realized that Long Beach still had the reputation of being a Navy town. And that was not gonna be sufficient to attract the kind of commercial and residential prospects that they were looking for. So when Chris, who was a travel agent here in town, approached them with the idea of running a Formula One race, there was some receptivity to it because of the fact they realized they needed a big event to achieve what their objectives are. However, that particular event came with a certain number of challenges. And those are the ones that had to be overcome to convince the city fathers, to convince the sanctioning bodies, to convince the stakeholders downtown. You're running this race through my neighborhood here. Is it safe? Can I get out? Can I go to church on Sunday? All of those things played into the necessity to satisfy a number of different stakeholders and make sure that they understood that, yes, there was going to be some inconvenience and it was going to be, you know, it was going to be somewhat loud, louder than it had been down there. But nevertheless, there was a benefit that accrued to it. And let me tell you what those benefits were. The first one was economic impact. OK, so what is it going to bring to the city? Is it going to bring people? Are they going to spend money? They spend money. There's tax revenue that goes Straight to the coffers of the city That's good second thing exposure One of the beauties of having an outdoor event like a street race Is unlike when you're in an arena or a fixed facility You know, you got to show everything that surrounds that particular uh circuit, you can't just focus on or just the race cars. So as a consequence of that, why cities began to realize that those broad sweeping camera shots of the external portion of the circuit and the surrounding area all had benefit because people began to see what the city had to offer. In our case, back in 75, there wasn't much. There was no shoreline. The downtown skyline was just flop houses and X-rated theaters. But as time went along, and as we began to have more and more coverage of the event, that became a significant driver of people coming into town and looking to see what they could do about taking advantage of the opportunity to go and conduct your business on a seaside town. in Southern California and at fairly reasonable rates. The third thing that I think was also important is what I call esprit de corps. That is, there was the feeling that if this event was successful, then people in Long Beach, residents, race fans or not, followers of the event or not, it didn't matter, they could very proudly say to their friends and their families, this is my town and my town can host a major event like Formula One. And they did. And I think it went a long ways towards establishing Long Beach as a significant venue for holding major events. You saw that when the Olympic swim trials came here in 2004. you're going to see it again in an even bigger way when the Olympic Games come here in 28 and Long Beach currently is scheduled to host I think like six or seven venues and I have to think that to a certain degree the ability for the city to host this event every year with a minimal amount of complications and challenges and do it successfully and safely has gone a ways towards validating Long Beach as a legitimate site for the Olympic venues.

BRUCE:

What were you doing before the Long Beach Grand Prix began?

JIM:

I went to UCLA. I got my undergraduate degree in physics, but that's a whole other matter. But I always was, my intention was always to be involved in the business side of things. So I got my MBA, and then I did a couple of things. One is, My first job out of college was in a master's program with BorgWarner. So why did I choose BorgWarner as a Chicago, Illinois-based company and I'm a Southern California kid? Well, I chose BorgWarner primarily because BorgWarner sponsors the Indy 500 winner's trophy, doesn't it? Hasn't it for years and years and years? And I thought, Because I've been a race fan ever since I was a kid. I mean, I loved racing. I'd try to go to the local races when I could. I didn't have enough money to be a competitive racer at the time. That had to wait. But I felt like, well, if Fort Warner's involved in racing and Indy and trophies, that might be something I want to do. Turned out that they wanted me to move to Chicago and that didn't work. So I left that and then In the interim, a colleague of mine who had been in the MBA program at UCLA had started a small chain, three bookstores, and asked me to come on board and just help give him a little guidance. So I had done that and was, in fact, was doing that. And then shortly thereafter, I heard from friends of mine downtown that this guy named Chris Pook was looking to run a race. And my immediate reaction was, if anybody's going to come into Long Beach and run a race in my town, I got to be a part of it. And that's where it started.

BRUCE:

What did you think of the whole concept of doing this?

JIM:

Well, I thought it was novel. I thought, from a city perspective, It had a lot of potential to it. I realized the complications. Once you get into it, even more so, once we had made the commitment and the city had made the commitment to proceed, why, we were just so immersed in all the things that had to be done. Like you said before, this is the first street, modern street race in America. So there's a lot of little things that had to be done, done correctly. or else there'd be some negative ramifications to it. So you just plunged in and just went from one issue to another, resolving them. So it didn't lend itself to, well, where's this event gonna be in 10, 15, 20 years? We were determined to make it work this year, and next year, and the next year after that kind of a thing, and proceed to to take on those challenges and meet them and succeed.

BRUCE:

We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break.

JOSEF:

Hey everyone, this is two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden and you're listening to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

BRUCE:

Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. Let's return to our exclusive interview with Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President and CEO, Jim McCallion, who tells us what has made the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach a generational event. The objective was to be on the Formula One World Championship calendar, but in order to do that, the first year had to be a Formula 5000 race.

JIM:

That's correct. That's no longer a necessity, but in those days it was. The 75 race was a precursor to the ability of Long Beach to handle a Formula One race, which came, the circus came here in April of, I mean in March of of 1976, Clay Regazzoni won the first race. Mario Andretti won the second race. And that really is the pivotal event in our early history, and quite frankly, in our history in the last 50 years, because his winning the race added the kind of prestige and exposure and coverage that this event really needed at the time and received. And after that, It was upward and outward for the event. Toyota had come on board as a pace car sponsor back in 75. The first race car here was a Toyota Celica. But as time went along, we put together that Toyota Pro Celebrity Race in 77. That grew into being an extremely popular event on our weekend. Toyota came on board as the title sponsor, Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in 1980, and remained there till 2018. 39 years long, one of the longest running title sponsorships in motorsports. So you could see where there was momentum growing. The only challenge you had, quite frankly, Bruce, was that in 83, we were putting close to 200,000 people in here. And we had good weather and great crowds, but we weren't making any money. We literally weren't making any money. A couple of hundred thousand dollars to the bottom line, and you wondered what would happen if we had some kind of a contingency rain or something else came up. So that was the reason why in 83 we talked to Bernie, to see if our contract had concluded, and we were talking about signing a new one. He was reluctant to change the terms that he had offered for a continuation of Formula One here, and we just got to the point where it financially just didn't make sense to go through all of that, be so successful, and yet show nothing in terms of anything of substance for the from the event and that's the reason why the change was made from uh former one to uh what those days was cart uh just because the numbers now uh were much more reasonable in terms of you know sanction fees and operating expenses and all of that and yes and then in in 1984 we knew we were going to take a bit of a hit financially as well as in terms of attendance, but because of a much lower sanction fee, we could afford to do it. And that little diminutive Italian, Mario Andretti came back and won the race in 84. He won the race in 85. His son won his first IndyCar race, 86. Mario comes back in 87. All the time, now the audience is now growing back up to starting to rival what we did when Formula One was here, and then in 88, why that gentleman named Allenser Jr. came along. Allenser Jr. won four races in a row and six races in eight years, solidifying his title of king of the beach so he had all of these positive aspects developing as time went along and the event continued to grow even though but you know we had switched in terms of the sanctioning bodies what was important was that people realized that this was an event this was entertainment three days of entertainment yes there was a change in the type of racing to a certain degree but we still had open wheel cars we still had sports cars. We still had a number of other race events here. And off track, we had a huge lifestyle expo in the brand new convention center. We had opportunity in 2000, we started having live concerts, one of the first circuits in America that had live concerts back in 2000. And we had a kid's zone, and we did a number of things that attracted individuals who are not hardcore race fans. Because we did surveys and it only proved what we thought was that about 35% of the people that attend this event attend other races during the year.

JIM:

The rest of them come to one race. Come to one race for one reason. Because they find this to be a very entertaining weekend. And one of the things to keep in mind, it's very significant, is affordability. For the very beginning, we wanted to make sure that families could bring their children here without having to pay a significant fee for it. So we established a policy of well and under free admission with an adult. We've continued that for 49 years. And the byproduct of that is a number of families brought their children. And now I run into people at the race who say, Hey, Jim, my dad brought me and now I've got my daughter with me. We're all enjoying the race. And I'm thinking to myself, you know, that's three generations that have had the opportunity to sample what Romprey has to offer. And Hopefully it met or exceeded their expectations.

BRUCE:

Well, what you described sounds an awful lot like the Indianapolis 500, the fact that it's been a generational thing where grandfathers brought their kids and then now the kid that the grandfather brought is now a grandfather himself. And more and more family members keep getting introduced to this event. To be able to capitalize on something like that, how special do you think it is that you've been able to build that type of following at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach?

JIM:

Well, the key is to keep thinking about what will be entertaining for your clients, for your spectators, for your guests. And never lose sight of that. And never start, you know, booking events or things that, well, it might pay a little more money or something else. And yet, what's the entertainment value of that? Because when you think about it, What we do here is we've got racing of virtually every type. We've got open wheel. We've got sports car, closed wheel. We've got trucks flying through the air with Robbie Gordon. We've got drifting on Friday and Saturday night. We've got SRO, which has their own form of sports cars. And then we have historics. Historics, you know, we've had Trans Am and Can-Am and IndyCars and Formula One and all of that. Because that appeals to one, some of those who were here when those races ran, but also to the younger generation because they never had a chance to see those cars or hear them. So now on each program, there's a campaign to highlight some historical element. Now this year, what we wanted to do, what I wanted to do was translate that into something that was reflective of the 50 years. So we went back and took a look. And Bruce, there really are three eras here at Long Beach, okay? Formula 5000, 1975. Formula One, 76 to 83. IndyCar, 84 and on. Three eras. So what we began to do is structure our creative and all our efforts around telling the stories around all those three eras. So, first thing we did, we went out and retained Mario Andretti and then Allenser Jr. as co-grand marshals of this event. There couldn't be two better individuals to represent our 50 years. We also sent out an invite to Brian Redman to come and participate in the dinner that we're having on Thursday night, the big gala, and also some activities on the weekend. All right? That was part of it. But more important than that, in some ways, was what we wanted to do, is we wanted to showcase all three of those eras here at Long Beach on its 50th anniversary. So I went to Chris Vandegrift, who runs HMSA, and said, Chris, what about the crazy idea of putting together an entry of all three of those eras at once? I said, yeah, we'll give it a try. And he has. And we're going to have anywhere from 25, maybe 27 cars representing each of those eras. And what we're going to do is we're going to have a formula exhibition event. And that is going to feature all three of those eras out on the track at the same time. Totally different sound, totally different look that anybody's ever experienced before, and maybe maybe ever will experience again. But for those that are here and want to hear what that cacophony of sound was like back in the day, all mixed together, you know, we got V8s, V10s, V12s, turbos, stock blocks, you name it. They're all going to be out on the circuit at once. So you're going to see it And I think even more important, you're going to hear a sound that you've never heard at a racetrack before.

BRUCE:

The first year, with it being Formula 5000, perhaps it was a series that a lot of American race fans weren't that familiar with. They were familiar with Formula One. So how challenging was it to sell tickets for that event or to get the fans engaged in the Formula 5000?

JIM:

Oh, it was, I'll tell you what, the reaction to the first race was extraordinarily strong, but don't forget, we had, if you go back and look at the entry list for 75, it was amazing. We had, Mario Andretti was in it, Alan Zerceda was in it, Jody Schechter was in it, Gordon Johncock was in it, Brian Redmond was in it, Tony Bryce, Tony Bryce, up-and-coming potential star in Formula One, Graham Hill's protege there. It was a great field. But I think what was equally attractive was the novelty. You're gonna run a race in the downtown streets of Long Beach. I gotta be there and see that. Now, to be truthful, and this is a story that's been told many times, not everybody that came to that first race paid, all right? That was one of the challenges we had. Operationally, it went well. Financially, it didn't go well. And the reason it didn't go well was we were so hurried in terms of putting together that whole event that there were some aspects of it that we just missed having total control over. For example, long stretches of fence without any security. on the premise that, well, if there's a fence, people are gonna recognize the fact that they gotta stay out. Well, they didn't. A lot of people came under the fence, over the fence, whatever. So as a consequence of that, you know, we had 62,000 people in here, but only about 37,000 paid. And so when we got done and everybody's looking around and patting themselves on the back and what a sensational debut, et cetera, et cetera, Then I went to Chris and I said, Chris, I hate to tell you this, but our box office manager down there just told me we had 37,000 people paid here for Sunday. And that was quite a shock. I mean, in the sense that what it meant was that we now had to recalibrate everything we were doing in light of, yes, it was successful, but now you've got Formula One coming in six months. And as a consequence of that, you better get your act together and your financial mark, uh, elements together, uh, you know, in order to facilitate, uh, having Bernie coming in the circus, uh, coming to town.

BRUCE:

Well, that's another interesting point. The fact that you only had a six month turnaround between the two races. So how challenging was that?

JIM:

Well, it was, it was, uh, you know, we, We actually learned, we obviously learned a lot out of 75, but then we had to turn around and reapply it fairly quick. And don't forget, we didn't have a big staff. I mean, we had four or five people here. It was, everybody did everything they, you know, that they had to make it a success. So it was a quick turnaround. And, you know, we had to recreate it, to the specs of Formula One, which were a little different than Formula 5000, and get on with it and yet do it with the financial resources that we had. So it was a challenge.

BRUCE:

It's been held every year since 1975, except for one, 2020, when despite best efforts and planning and everything in March of 2020, the country pretty much was forced to shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. How were you able to manage your way through that without any revenue coming in to keep something like this that, as you said, operates from year to year on a specific budget?

JIM:

Well, that was one of the real challenging moments in the history of the company. I can tell you that. On March 14th, 2020, State of California basically shut down, you know, virtually everything, including us. We were 70% built, 70% built out in anticipation of our April date. Now, suddenly, as you say, we got zero revenue coming in. We got to pay the expense of now taking all of that stuff and moving it back into storage and not having any revenue stream for the Near future. Near future because we didn't know what contingencies would arise because of COVID. We tried to plan for an April race in 2021 like we would have. But as we get closer, November, December, January, we could see there was no way there was going to be a race. If you remember that year, Indy ran without any spectators. And that wouldn't work for us. But I didn't want to go two years and not have a race here. I felt like that would be detrimental. So we managed to pull everything together and we had a race here in September of 2021. And it featured all the same series that we had originally lined up for 2020. So in that sense, people had the chance to come back and experience the event. The challenge was that When we were canceled in 2020, we made an offer for people to either take a refund of the funds that they sent us or get a credit. Quite a few people took the credit. Then as you can well imagine, when we ran the race in 21, we had a lot of people here, but there was a substantial number that had, quite frankly, had already paid back in 2020. And as a consequence of that, why our financial, Revenue stream was uh was severely impacted by that. So that was those were tough years We got through 21. We got to 22 keep in mind 21 to 22 was very much analogous to What we were talking about before in september 75 to march of 76 We turned that race around in six months We turned the 21 september race around in six months and ran here and uh In April of 2022, the crowd came back and, you know, 23 and 24 have grown significantly over those last three years.

BRUCE:

How long did it take for you to catch up financially?

JIM:

It took a couple of years because you've got to earn all that. You've got to earn all those credits back. And I give credit to Jerry Forsythe, who was our owner at the time with Kevin Kalkoven's passing. Jerry was the owner. And he was of major assistance to us in terms of helping us bridge that gap from low revenue and lots of expenses to trying to get back to where revenue hopefully exceeds your expenses on an annual basis.

BRUCE:

We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break.

WILL:

This is Will Power of Team Penske, and you're listening to Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental.

BRUCE:

Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. On November 14, 2024, Roger Penske and Penske Entertainment purchased the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, ensuring its future as a key part of the NTT IndyCar Series schedule. In part three of our exclusive interview with Jim McCallion, he explains the importance of Penske's ownership and what fans can expect to see at this year's 50th anniversary Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Very important date, November 14th, 2024, when Roger Penske and Penske Entertainment acquired the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, which solidifies the future of this great event. How can you describe the importance of that acquisition?

JIM:

Well, you know, in the big picture of things, why it makes all the sense in the world, because Roger Penske happened to have been here in 1975 when we ran our Formula 5000 race, okay? He was involved with the team. And has been here personally ever since. So has some of the other members of the IndyCar family. So when November 14th came around the announcement, what Penske Entertainment was buying was a very well-known commodity. There was no secrets. We run every year. People come, they see what we do, how we do it. So as a consequence of that, why having Roger Penske and his team here in the future is obviously a significant benefit to us. One, they know our business. They run street races, right? Detroit Grand Prix, now they're talking about Arlington, and they run other races too, Iowa, Nashville. So they're in our business, they know our business, and they're aware of how we do things here in Long Beach. So all that together meant that it was a very seamless, transition from from Jerry Forsythe's ownership to Penske Entertainment.

BRUCE:

Although it's your staff that continues to run and orchestrate the race and the race weekend and the event, how gratifying is it to know that if you do need to come in for with some additional resources, some help, that you've got this deep bench from the Penske Corporation to pick up the phone and give a call to?

JIM:

Well, it's obviously, you know, it's very reassuring. They came in with the idea that, hey, by November, we were well into the planning stages for our 50th anniversary here. And they looked at, you know, what we plan to do, et cetera, and said, you know, go for it. Keep going. However, if you need some help, if you need a little additional assistance along the way, let us know. Other than that, We're going to count on your guys to do what they've done best, which is put on the second largest IndyCar race in America.

BRUCE:

And with Greg Penske being located in California, has he pretty much been the point guy between the Penske Corporation and the Long Beach Grand Prix?

JIM:

No, I wouldn't say that. I think that rule really is held by Bud Denker. We converse with Greg, you know, very frequently, but in terms of the business side of things, how it fits into Penske Entertainment. That really is a Bud Denker, Michael Montri kind of thing.

BRUCE:

You mentioned two very important people, Bud Denker and Michael Montri. The fact that they are so connected with so many different things, does it amaze you sometimes just how these guys, they seem to be in constant motion?

JIM:

Those are two very bright individuals who I enjoy working with because they've had so many of the common experiences that we've had here. So you mentioned contingencies or a challenge or success or something, and there's a general recognition of what it takes to achieve those. And you can appreciate working for people like that and with that because of their familiarity with what they've done with their own venues and how it's turned out for them. You know, it's refreshing when the people you're working with speak the same language and have had the same experiences. It's very refreshing to do that.

BRUCE:

With you being one of the best promoters in motorsports, what can fans expect to see when they arrive this weekend for the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach?

JIM:

Well, in addition to that special historic formula exhibition that we're going to put on, which I think is really going to be exciting. We've got a number of other activities. We have a parade of legends here on Sunday afternoon, right before the start of the big waste. We're doing a huge salute to first responders, those who were active in fighting the fires here in Southern California earlier this year. There's going to be a special flyover and recognition of first responders and a Grand Marshal designation, etc. So that'll be exciting. And then on top of all of that, we have our huge Lifestyle Expo, which It's always something that everybody wants to go and participate in, whether it's interactive games or some kind of display or exhibit or whatever. So those are all things that, again, go into the composition of the 50th anniversary of the Acura Grand Prix at Long Beach and why it's so special this year.

BRUCE:

And let's not forget, you're also one of the innovators of bringing big name entertainment to perform at the venue at night. This year, it's going to be Foreigner. If you could talk about how you came up with that concept that now you see at the Indianapolis 500. We've seen it at Iowa in the past and at other races on the schedule.

JIM:

Well, the whole idea behind it was to find something of entertainment value for our guests at the end of the day. We started just on Saturday after the end of racing activity. In those days, we didn't have drifting at night. We didn't have, you know, other racetrack activities. So it was a way for our customers to relax, enjoy some music. preferably from a source that they recognized or were followers of. And then as time went along, why we included a Friday night, we did a Fiesta Friday, which was held primarily focused on our Hispanic audience, because that's a huge, huge part of our guest makeup here. And then this year, I was looking back and saying, so what, similar to what we talked about with regard to the racing here, what sort of epitomizes 49 years of racing here? I was trying to think of a band that could come in here and, and cover, you know, the sort of the breadth of musical Activity here over the years and turned out. I mean I was very anxious to get foreigner and happy we did but foreigner was started in 1976 I didn't know that at the time but But they will be celebrating their 49th anniversary here this year, so that was another Example of you know finding a group that I not only had a significant number of hits, but I think will really resonate well with our audience here. And that's what we want. We want people to come out and sing along and dance and have a good time. Because again, that's what these weekends are all about. Free days of fun, friendly activities, family-oriented, and safe. Safety is key to making sure that people return back in the future because they feel like they and their guests are in a safe environment.

BRUCE:

Well, I have to say, you've always been successful at finding big name classic rock groups from back in the day. I witnessed the Cheap Trick concert at your track in 2016, and those guys could still bring it.

JIM:

Yeah, well, you know, there are some of the younger staff and others are trying to move us in a more modern direction. But for this year, for sure, I'm delighted that foreigners are. And then, you know, we'll see where we go in the future. But whatever we do, it needs to be something that people find attractive, OK? You know, we don't want musical acts that people either haven't heard of or that don't bring a certain amount of joy and excitement. That's what we do. We want our musical acts to do the same thing.

BRUCE:

From the sounds of your ringtone, I can tell that you're a man in high demand, even as we do this interview. Just a couple of quick questions. How much of this has been a labor of love? You're in an age where a lot of people could probably kick back on the deck and watch boats go by, but you keep at it. I'm sure your days are very long. I'm sure you get up early and you go to bed late. But how much of this is a labor of love?

JIM:

A significant part. Like I said before, I always had a passion for motorsports or automobiles and mechanical things. And a lot of people talk about our passion, but when you really have that component to be able to engage in an industry that incorporates those aspects as well as utilizing my business background and doing it all quite frankly in my home town is a pretty potent combination and that can justify to a significant degree those late nights and early mornings because it's something that you know from a personal standpoint I just I really enjoy doing and would like to continue for as long as my health and everything else maintains itself.

BRUCE:

Yeah, and also forgive this question, but how old are you? You can be forgiven for asking.

JIM:

82 years old.

BRUCE:

Well, like I said, I guess that you and Mr. Penske have found a secret to being active, and I applaud you for that.

JIM:

Well, you know, It catches up to everybody and that's why I always condition people. How long are you going to do this? How long are you going to do that? The good Lord will provide you with the health and the strength you need and when it starts to slip away, then you refocus. What am I going to do and how am I going to do it? But until that time, we'll see what happens.

BRUCE:

And final question with Jim McAleenan, president of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. When you think of the state of California and signature sporting events, First off, you think of the Rose Bowl, but I would think that you're on that list, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in terms of history and the fact that it is a signature, unique sporting event to the state of California that's known worldwide. When you hear that, what do you think?

JIM:

Well, I'll tell you what, state of California is a very challenging environment to run big events in, okay? I mean, we have So many pro teams, college teams, special concerts here all during the year because of the weather conditions here. So being in the state of California has its share of challenges, but What that means is that you have to constantly be searching ways to improve your product, to make sure that it is attractive for those that want to attend and that they will have a positive experience. So in my mind, I mean, we run for every year for the last 15, 20 years, we've run up against the Coachella concerts every time. Those two weekends always correspond to one of ours. But we've all managed to not only succeed, but thrive, I think, because the whole impetus behind it is make sure that whatever you do, you think about your guests and your spectators and what impact you're doing will have on them. And if you do that, I think you've gone a long ways towards producing something that has generational appeal.

BRUCE:

And also in the past, you've been on CBS, you've been on ABC, you've been on ESPN, you've been on NBC. This year, for the first time, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will be on Fox, who's based up there in Hollywood. So how important is that, that their first Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will be the 50th running of this great event?

JIM:

Well, first place, I think IndyCar's capability of reaching agreement with Fox was super significant. Okay. For the first time, you've got all 17 races on network television. And I know a lot of people talk about, you know, streaming and cable and all of that. But I think having the continuity that comes with one partner like that is super, super significant. Second thing is, they are great promoters, as we've already seen in terms of highlighting Josef Newgarden and Alex Pillow, and in some of their early commercials, Padua Ward around the Super Bowl. They're just very, very adept at promoting events, and we've talked to them and given them some ideas and sent them some video. We'll see what comes out of that in terms of they're highlighting our 50th anniversary and what it's meant here in the city of Long Beach over all these years. So we're delighted. I think that's one of the huge major increases that IndyCar has been able to achieve this year, which I think will pay dividends for all of us.

BRUCE:

Well, Jim, we could talk for hours on this subject, but I know you're a very busy man and you've got a race to get ready for. Jim McAleon, president of the Long Beach Grand Prix Association, which conducts the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Congratulations on reaching your 50th year of this great event. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

JIM:

My privilege, Bruce, and it's always good to talk to you. Looking forward to having a very successful 50th anniversary here next weekend.

BRUCE:

We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break.

SCOTT:

Hi, I'm Scott McLaughlin, driver of the number three team Penske Chevy, and you're listening to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

BRUCE:

And that puts a checkered flag on this edition of Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental. We want to thank our guest, Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President and CEO, Jim McCallion, who shared the fascinating history of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, for joining us on today's podcast. Along with loyal listeners like you, our guests help make Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental, your path to victory lane in IndyCar. On the highways, the raceways, and every pit stop in between, Penske Truck Rental keeps you moving forward. Gain ground with Penske. For more IndyCar coverage, follow me at X, previously known as Twitter, at BruceMartin, one word, uppercase B, uppercase M, underscore 500. And be sure to join us later this week for a special bonus edition of Pit Pass Indy featuring the great Mario Andretti, a four-time winner of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and the only driver to win the race in both the Formula One World Championship in 1977 and kart IndyCar wins in 1984, 1985, and 1987. And Dreddy shares his stories about racing at Long Beach and what has made it the number one street race in North America. So look for that exclusive interview later this week. This has been a production of Evergreen Podcast. A special thanks to our production team, executive producers are Bridget Poyn and Gerardo Orlando. Recordings and edits were done by me, Bruce Martin, and final mixing was done by Dave Douglas. Learn more at evergreenpodcast.com. Until next time, be sure to keep it out of the wall.